this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> glor: good evening, scott is off tonight. i'm jeff glor. it is the end of a holiday week, holit would appear congress is get getting started. tonight, the president said he es modestly optimistic about a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, which would mean avoiding automatic tax increases and spending cuts come january 1. the president spoke to the nation this evening after an hourlong meeting with congressional leaders at the white house. democrat and republican leaders have agreed to extend jobless benefits and some tax increases. they appear to remain deadlocked on who exactly will pay those higher taxes. wo have two reports tonight, beginning with major garrett at the white house. major, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, jeff. two things are clear tonight arat were not clear this morning: progress is real, and if a deal is reached, it will be ir smaller than any of the key players envisioned only a couple weeks ago. is this deal, if it's to be

reached, will not be the so- called grand bargain with trillions of dollars of deficit lionction. in fact, jeff, it's not even clear this deal-- again, if there is one-- would stop the across-the-board spending cuts ulr the defense department and peher government programs. it looks like those cuts will go forward. what the president said today is 24 hours from now the senate leaders have to have a plan that deals with income taxes at a rate to be determined later, the threshold of that income-- and some federal benefit. and if they don't reach a deal, he will have his own plan "b." >> if we don't see an agreement hetween the two leaders in the senate, i expect a bill to go on the floor, and i've asked senator reid to do this, put a eill on the floor that makes tare that taxes on middle class families don't go up, that unemployment insurance is still ploylable for two million people, and that lays the dioundwork then for additional deficit reduction and economic growth steps that we can take in ane new year. but let's not miss this deadline. neat's bare minimum that we

should be able to get done. >> reporter: the president is pushing very hard, jeff, for that extension of unemployment benefits for americans who have been jobless for six months or more. they start losing that federal rsd starting tomorrow morning. and it appears the president will get his way on that. the key sticking point now is at what level do higher income taxes apply? what income threshold? .he president said $250,000 per household. that was his campaign reelection aiomise. he's willing to go up a little bit higher. republicans are seeking something closer to $500,000. that's still to be negotiated in the next 24 hours. hour indicated earlier, it's eaal to whether or not there is or is not going to be a deal. to blor: major garrett at the white house. nancy cordes is following developments on capitol hill. nancy, what are you hearing tonight? ra reporter: well, jeff, the top democrat and crucially the top republican in the senate came back from that meeting with the yiesident saying they think they can craft a deal very quickly, possibly within the next 24 hours. tt was the first sign of bipartisanship we've seen on

eeis issue in a couple of weeks, and it came just as many anymakers up here were starting to give up. teter returning from the white house, senate majority leader harry reid went to the senate eloor to announce a potential breakthrough. >> the republican leader and i and our staffs are working to see what we can come up with. we shouldn't take a long time to do that. >> reporter: for the first time, republican leader mitch mcconnell described himself as hopeful and optimistic. ptime had a good meeting down at the white house. we are engaged in discussions, the majority leader and myself nd the white house, in the hopes that we can come forward as early as sunday and have a makemendation that i can make to my conference, and the majority leader can make to his conference. r: teporter: the progress came as members on both sides were growing doubtful congress could get anything done before the deadline. .ebraska democrat ben nelson: >> if we don't have a deal within the next 24 hours, the

question is, where do you buy a parachute? it looks like we'd be going over we cliff. >> reporter: but leader reid had this warning about the shape of iddeal to come. >> everybody, whatever we come te with is going to be imperfect and some people aren't going to ren' it. some people will like it less, but that's where we are. >> reporter: up until now, reid and mcconnell have kind of been sitting on the sidelines as the ndesident and speaker boehner tried but failed to come up with omeeal. and it's kind of fitting that they're swooping in now at the last minute. that's exactly what they did during the debt crisis last summer, and the legislation they came up with, jeff, contributed o the fiscal cliff that we're facing right now. >> glor: the president says this just keeps happening again and again. nancy cordes, thank you. income taxes won't be the only taxes going up if there's no agreement. estate taxes paid by those who inherit property will also jump. here's john blackstone. >> reporter: jeff page owns 120-

cre vineyard in california's napa valley. but when his great-grandfather started farming here in the late 1800s, this was cattle country. >> both sides of the family came en before the turn of the century, and farmed orchard fruit and cattle. he reporter: but much of the land he grew up on is gone, sold to pay estate taxes after his grandfather's death. had land back in the hills over there? >> yeah. >> reporter: had to sell it all. >> had to sell all of it? i reporter: estate tax? >> yes. >> reporter: his grandfather died in 1972 when estate taxes were at an all-time high: 77%. >> it was a big tax bill. it was half-a-million dollars. we sold off 150 acres; gave us hemething to pay the tax with. >> reporter: now, jeff and his wife mary worry their dream of passing the land on to their two daughters will be ruined by the lifcal cliff. the estate tax rate would rise

from 35% to 55% on estates worth over $1 million. 1 t today's prices in the napa thley, the pages' land could easily be worth $8 million. you're wealthy, right? u' but it's all in the dirt. you know, we're dirt rich, cash poor. >> reporter: for the pages, more than money is at stake. they want the land that is part of their family's past to also be part of its future. john blackstone, cbs news, in the napa valley. >> glor: and that is not all. apart from the fiscal cliff febate, some other laws are due to expire january 1, and that could cost americans plenty. ar starters, the payroll tax break will end. illial security taxes will go from 4.2% back to 6.2%. if the farm bill is allowed to expire, it is feared milk prices could rise sharply. hundreds of american families famiheartbroken tonight after russian president vladimir putin

banned all adoption of russian children by americans. it is believed to be retaliation for a new u.s. law that targets human rights abuses in russia. in the past two decades, more , mo 60,000 russian children have been given new homes inside the u.s. it elaine quijano met one family whose adoption is now on hold. >> look at this. look. >> reporter: two years ago kim and robert summers decided to adopt from russia. it took nearly 18 months, but last july, the couple was matched with a 15-month-old boy. enen you saw his picture for the first time, what did you think? k i knew that this was the child i was meant to parent. and i took one look at this little ginger boy, and i fell in love with him. >> reporter: the summers began filling their new jersey home with baby clothes, a crib, and even a stroller. they traveled to his orphanage in russia twice to bond with him. >> say, hi, daddy. >> reporter: you've given him a name. >> yes.

preston mackey summers. he's a wonderful young boy who needs love and attention. >> reporter: like 1,500 other american families, the summers torry that the law banning opericans from adopting russian thedren could prevent them from bringing a child home. the law is widely seen as retaliation for a new american law banning russians accused of human rights violations from entering the united states. ctimsummers are hoping politics pn't stop them from becoming parents. on your last trip there, that was the last thing you said to him? m> i said to him, "mommy and daddy will see you in four weeks d d you're going to come home with us, and we're going to be a forever family." >> those dreams are sort of shattered. and i cannot put into words how my wife and i feel right now.

and we ask president putin, please, consider alternate means but don't let these children fferer. please. that's all we ask. >> reporter: president putin says he signed the ban because he believes russians should take care of their own children. u.s. state department is urging russia to allow children like preston who have already met and bonded with their future parents f be allowed to join their american families. but, jeff, it's unclear whether heat will happen. >> glor: heartbreak, elaine. thank you very much. president obama called general norman schwarzkopf an american original. schwarzkopf who command can the operation that drove iraqi forces out of kuwait in 1991 died yesterday at age 78. the cause of death was respiratory failure, though david martin says he also suffered from alzheimer's in his later years. tonight a look back at an extraordinary life.

mandeporter: stormin' norman schwarzkopf was a revelation, a hisismatic combat commander who rose out of the ashes of his own and the country's disillusionment after vietnam. the nickname applied to both his fighting and management style, as he once told "60 minutes." >> i said, listen, i wear my heart squarely on my sleeve. if i don't like something, sere's going to be no doubt in inur mind that i don't like it, and if i like something, there will be no doubt in your mind that i like it. >> reporter: he routed saddam hussein's army, first with an air war for which he provided the soundtrack. >> the simple fact of the matter is now every time an iraqi airplane takes off the ground, lane running away. >> reporter: then with a ground war which sent saddam's troops into a mad retreat. >> as far as saddam hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist nor is he schooled in the operational art nor is he a tactician nor is he a general nor is he a soldier. other than that, he's a great military man. i want you to know that.

( laughter ) >> reporter: when schwarzkopf accepted the iraqi surrender and came home to a hero's welcome, no one could imagine it was only the first chapter of the war with iraq. he had made it look too easy, creating false expectations for the 2003 invasion of iraqi. by then, he was retired and sinking into the fog of alzheimer's. but what he told "60 minutes" before that first gulf war remains true: it all comes down to the sergeants on the battlefield. >> late at night when i lie in bed and look at the ceiling and think about this whole awesome responsibility that's on my shoulders, i just remind myself that there's thousands and thousands of great leaders out there who, even if i do screw it up, they'll sort it out and make it right. >> reporter: when stormin' norman was in command, both the generals and the sergeants got it right. >> glor: we've been closely clching the terrible violence in chicago this year, and today

a grim milestone. mayor rahm emanuel said there had been 500 homicides in chicago this year. that is up 17% from last year. 7%e last time chicago had more eaan 500 homicides will was in 2008. help is available for millions who have lost their homes to lreclosure but few know about the program. and the f.b.i.'s secret files on marilyn monroe when the cbs evening news continues. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

]d yois on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey!

>> glor: more evidence today that home sales are rebounding. the number of contracts to buy homes is up nearly 10% from a year ago. some americans who wrongfully lost their homes to foreclosure could be due some money, but bill whitaker reports they'll have to move fast. >> reporter: 74-year-old dorothy patton raised her seven children in this south los angeles house. hi i wanted to live and enjoy my home, and it was taken away. >> reporter: she was living alone after her husband died in 2007. she says that's when bank of america approached her with a new mortgage and a $110,000 home equity line of credit. dee didn't understand her entsents would jump $1,200 a month. patton and her bank could not work out a loan modification. she lost her home to foreclosure. e u feel you were cheated? >> i was cheated. i was cheated out of my home. >> reporter: patton is applying to the federal independent

clreclosure review program. the government ordered 14 big banks to take part in the program after it was discovered rley improperly processed urreclosure paperwork, or made other misrepresentations about mortgage terms. brmed homeowners can be compensated up to $125,000. but critics, like new jersey jenator robert menendez, complain the bank controls the osview process. >> who they choose are often lawyers and consultants who have worked with the bank before, and so it's a little bit of the fox hitching the chicken coop. c reporter: the office of the comptroller, which oversees the ram,ram, told us independence nas been a priority. >> this free program is monitored by federal bank regulators. >> reporter: others complained despite ads like this, few people even know about the program. only 10% of the 4.4 million ibigible homeowners have enrolled. >> we'll give you instructions on what to do. >> reporter: west angeles

community development velop ation held one of nine yorkshops around the country keis month, where people like .orothy patton, signed up. >> we know there are thousands more, hundreds of thousands more out there, note only in los angeles but certainly in llifornia and around the country. >> i'm hoping and praying that it will help. e ere are so many of us out there. >> reporter: the deadline to sign up has been pushed back three times with the response so tics critics say it should be pushed back again. bill whitaker, cbs news, los , geles. >> glor: margaret thatcher and ronald reagan-- once-secret documents reveal their uneasy lianance next. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families

is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

>> glor: a spokesman says president george h.w. bush is improving and is now even winging with doctors and nurses at a houston hospital. . . bush, who is 88, is in the intensive care unit with bronchitis and a high fever. president bush's predecessor ronald reagan once famously called margaret thatcher the best man in england. meirs was an enduring friendship but barry peterson reports on documents that reveal fnother side of their alliance. t reporter: in front of the cameras, it was all smiles. >> britain and america will stand side by side. bu reporter: but the documents released today by the british national archives reveal some tempestuous moments. after argentina invaded the

falkland islands in the south htlantic ocean in 1982, prime minister thatcher launched a land and sea invasion to take and back, counting on president oagan for support, telling him, "you are the only person who will understand." but mr. reagan hesitated, afraid that u.s. support would offend argentina's latin american ntlies. lae relationship hit its lowest point during the falkland's war, when president reagan kept erging the prime minister to negotiate a truce, a suggestion she flatly rejected. 255 soldiers died before britain retook the islands. in time, the relationship warmed. she once signed a letter wishing the president, then a bit under nde weather, "a rapid recovery to full health and strength. "the world needs you." other documents reveal that mr. reagan's aides asked for fashion advice. tat should the president wear for a horseback ride with the queen?

the answer: nothing formal, more maart casual. and so a president, famous as a star of hollywood westerns, rode out looking like anything but an american cowboy. barry petersen, cbs news, pndon. >> glor: we also learned more lday about the f.b.i.'s secret files on marilyn monroe. they reveal some of her friends were suspected communists, and ae once considered traveling to the soviet union. the f.b.i. kept files on her from 1955 until her death in 1962. how much will some people do for a stranger whose life is on the oine? steve hartman finds out "on the road" next. . ra ght ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. [ sniffs ] i took dayquil but my nose is still runny.

[ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth! aww man. [ male announcer ] returns are easy with free pickup from the u.s. postal service. we'll even drop off boxes if you need them. visit usps.com pay, print, and have it picked up for free. any time of year. ♪ nice sweater. thank you. ♪ up high! ok. don't you have any usefull apps on that thing? who do you think i am, quicken loans? ♪ at quicken loans, our amazingly useful mortgage calculator app allows you to quickly calculate your mortgage payment based on today's incredibly low interest rates...

right from your iphone or android smartphone. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ smoke? nah, i'm good. ♪ [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette, you celebrate a little win. nicoderm cq, the patch with time release smart control technology that acts fast and helps control cravings all day long. ♪ quit one day at a time with nicoderm cq. ♪ ooh baby, can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance? align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance.

try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. you can now give your car... that retro-look. next on cb >> glor: steve hartman now with a story of s extraordinary steve hartman now with a story of a man going to extraordinary lengths to save his love "on the road." reporter: larry swilling and his wife jimmie sue have been happily married 57 years. so happily, in fact, that larry has now come to realize the downside of loving someone so much you can't live without them. >> you know, i love her. >> reporter: you can't live without them. >> she's my heart. >> reporter: heart has never been an issue for these two. >> i know he loves me. >> reporter: what's always been

lacking is a kidney. jimmie sue was born with only one, and now that one is shot. she needs a transplant. but neither her husband nor anyone tested in her family is a suitable match. jimmie sue is on a donor list. but the wait is buy two or three years long and that's for a kidney from a deceased donor. transplant patients who get their kidneys from living donors tend to live longer. >> i'm going to get you a kidney. >> reporter: which is why larly decided to try a completely radical approach to securing a kidney. >> i don't care what people think. >> reporter: asking for it from total strangers. >> i sure could use your kidney. >> reporter: nevermind that most people won't give panhandlers their pocket change, let alone their vital organs. >> i need a kidney. >> reporter: a few months ago, larry at 77 started walking all over his hometown of anderson, south carolina, and the surrounding towns basically begging for a kidney. did you think you would get anybody? >> no. i guess not. >> reporter: then why do it?

>> i'm trying. i had to do something. >> reporter: it was really just a way to not feel helpless, which is why he was as surprised as anyone when the phone rang. >> i'm willing to donate a kidney to your wife. >> reporter: rang repeatedly. >> we would love to find out how to be tested. >> reporter: hundreds of people who either saw his sign or heard about it volunteered. >> because i have got two of them and i only need one. >> reporter: so far there's been no match but at this point, he has almost certainly recruited enough volunteers and raised enough awareness -- >> i'll take your kidney. >> reporter: -- to save someone, which is fine by his wife. >> if i get a kidney, fine. if i don't, i hope someone else does. >> reporter: that's not good enough for him. >> i know it. >> reporter: that's why larry is still looking, still appealing to the kindness of strangers for the love of his life. steve hartman "on the road" in anderson, south carolina. >> that is the "cbs evening news" tonight. for scott pelley, i'm jeff

glor. good night. >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald good evening, i'm allen martin. >> i'm elizabeth cook. we begin tonight over the bay. the tiburon fire department has just rescued two people from the water near the golden gate bridge. they are now at the coast guard station and doctors are treating them. about 45 minutes ago, someone onshore called the coast guard saying he saw two people in the water near the north tower and it looked like they were in trouble. cbs 5 meteorologist brian hackney says the water is 53 degrees. that's all we know. we don't know the condition or what happened. we'll bring you any new updates. legendary lawman william bratton has been hired to help oakland deal with what even the mayor now admits is an unacceptable crime problem. events of the last 20 hours or so are proving he has his work cut out for him.

three people were killed in two incidents. cbs 5 reporter linda yee asked just what can bratton do for oakland? linda? >> the newestists can bring the number of homicides to 130. that's up from 110 last year. the city is desperate for change. some wonder if police bureaucracy could get in the way. >> from for profit education, my money, my future, it's gone. >> reporter: to faulty foreclosures. >> for me they happen quickly. [ wrong tape ] >> that obviously was the wrong story. the city does -- has spent nearly $1 million already this year on police consultants. they hope to help the backlog of internal affairs investigations. william bratton and his security consultant group is scheduled to start in oakland next month. >> is this a one-year deal? it's a contract that they have signed with bratton